Date: October 29-30, 2020
Location: Virtual; By invitation only

Overview

The conference aims to foster rigorous economic research on audit-related topics including the economic impact of auditing and audit regulation on capital markets.

Conference organizers are Dr. W. Robert Knechel, University of Florida, Dr. Nayantara Hensel, Chief Economist of PCAOB and Director of the Office of Economic and Risk Analysis, and the staff of the PCAOB Office of Economic and Risk Analysis.

Topics

The conference organizers encourage submissions that can inform the Board’s efforts to promote continuous improvement in the quality of audit services. These efforts are highlighted in the PCAOB’s Strategic Plan.

Conference organizers also encourage submissions on the impact of auditing regulations and oversight.  Papers may be theoretical, archival, or experimental in nature. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• The impact of initial critical audit matter implementation on audits and capital markets
• Firm governance and quality controls in audit firms
• Proxies for and indicators of audit quality and their potential usage and impact
• Applications of data analytics and technology in audits and audit regulation
• Understanding audit expectations among investors and other stakeholders
• Global regulation of auditing and nature of multinational engagements
• Impact of audit regulation and oversight, including, for example, the recent changes to the auditor’s report and the deterrence effect of enforcement actions
• Economic effects of the application of auditing standards to audits of emerging growth companies
• The impact of COVID on the auditing arena

Paper Submission Details

Please send a PDF version of your working paper, with a separate title page to facilitate a blind-review, by August 21, to ERA@pcaobus.org specifying "PCAOB Conference" in the subject line.

Conference Attendance

The 2020 Conference will be held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance is free and by invitation only.  Academics interested in receiving an invitation should contact the conference organizers at ERA@pcaobus.org. A link to the conference and other details will be emailed to the attendees closer to the conference date.

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